Council agrees to parking study, settles Wolf Chase parking

Published: Friday, August 8, 2014 at 10:45 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, August 7, 2014 at 11:16 p.m.

Hendersonville City Council Thursday green-lighted plans for a downtown parking study and agreed, in a split vote, to restrict parking to the outbound lane along portions of Half Moon Trail in the Wolf Chase subdivision.

Several Wolf Chase residents spoke at the meeting, urging the council to consider restricting on-street parking in its entirety along Half Moon Trail due to safety and accessibility concerns raised by the prospect of new development.

"Fox Chase II" is set to include 10 single-family residences and a duplex along one side of Half Moon Trail. Neighbors complained after learning on-street parking would be allowed on the city street – the only road leading into Wolf Chase, which is already plagued with parking issues.

A petition requesting the city ban on-street parking, signed by owners of at least 44 of the development's 56 properties, was submitted to the council Thursday night.

Mayor Barbara Volk said she was concerned with stripping all on-street parking privileges for the new development after learning that the private streets in Wolf Chase allowed on-street parking.

Volk, Mayor Pro Tem Ron Stephens and Councilmen Steve Caraker and Jeff Miller voted to restrict parking to the outbound lane of the road, starting at the property line of the second lot. No parking will be allowed in front of the first lot or in a curve in the roadway, raised by some as a potential hazard for blind spots.

Councilman Jerry Smith opposed the motion, voting instead to restrict parking to the incoming lane, after Hendersonville Police Chief Herbert Blake said on-street parking closest to the homes would be safer for pedestrians and a deterrent to any would-be robbers looking to break into vehicles.

Parking study

The council voted unanimously to hire Dixon Resources Unlimited to conduct a comprehensive parking study for downtown at a cost of $24,875. The plan for the study was one of the solutions suggested during a community workshop held to address downtown parking issues last August.

City Manager John Connet told the council that “several parking issues” from downtown “have arisen over the last six months.” Two downtown property owners complained that they received tickets for parking in the same block for more than three hours in a 24-hour period, which is against city ordinance.

“In both cases, the property owners had not exceeded the three-hour limit by parking for three hours straight, but they had been in and out of their properties numerous times during the day and exceeded the three-hour limit after numerous visits,” Connet wrote in a memo to council.

He said that neither property owner was aware of the city's regulation.

Connet recommended the city develop a brochure explaining all of the city's existing parking rules and regulations in the downtown area to distribute to property and business owners. The city recommends the information also be placed on the city and Downtown Hendersonville websites. Connet said the provision will also be reviewed as part of the comprehensive parking study.

“Staff has received several requests for loading zones in the downtown area to serve quick-service businesses,” Connet said in the memo. He told the council that requests were raised specifically along King Street, where on-street parking is not allowed.

The issue is set to be addressed in the upcoming parking study.

Connet said the city has had a request from Henderson County to designate parking spaces along Second Avenue for the county's volunteers at the Historic Courthouse. “Staff found them an acceptable alternative method of providing parking for their volunteers and resolved the issue,” according to the memo.

“City staff has received a request from a new business to assist them with finding initially 18 and ultimately 40 parking spaces in the downtown area. This business is relocating from the Greenville, S.C. and Asheville areas with the potential of moving their headquarters from Florida,” Connet wrote in the memo.

City Council voted unanimously to convert 20 underutilized metered parking spaces in the city's Dogwood lot with the stipulation that the spaces be open to others on weekends and during special events. The council also agreed to let the city explore an opportunity for leased spaces at the Curb Market.

Connet told the council that the city plans to “make improvements to the Maple lot after the first of the calendar year,” removing trees to increase visibility; repairing curbs, gutters and drainage systems; and resurfacing the lot.

“One of the recommendations from the parking workshop was to conduct a comprehensive parking study for the downtown area. Therefore, staff has requested and received proposals from four parking consultants” to conduct the study, Connet said.

“The study will examine current and future supply and demand, best locations for metered parking, meter equipment recommendations and parking policies. The proposals were priced from approximately $25,000 to $80,000.”

Connet said the city recommends Dixon, whose “owner has extensive experience in municipal parking operations and once served as a parking enforcement officer.”

Dixon Resources, based in Southern California, was founded by Julie Dixon “with a goal of directly supporting municipal parking programs,” according to the company's parking study proposal application. “Prior to her work at DRU, Ms. Dixon's primary focus was the ongoing support and development for two of the largest parking programs in the country, the city of Los Angeles and the city and county of San Francisco.”

In other action, City Council:

-Approved a request to rezone Grace Blue Ridge Church's property on Florence Street from medium residential and highway business to secondary business, which will allow the church to use part of its property for light industrial purposes.

-Approved a request to rezone two vacant parcels owned by Interfaith Assistance Ministry on Freeman Street from planned commercial development to highway business.

-Agreed to lower the rental fees for the Southern Lights Square Dance Club's use of the city's Whitmire building from $100 to $75, starting Sept. 1. The rental price will be reviewed again next August.

-Voted to remove the last few remaining “yield to pedestrian” signs along Main Street in an effort to keep uniformity in the renovated streetscape, after hearing the roadway signs could be a hazard in the narrow lanes. State law still requires drivers to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.

-The city recognized a special guest, Rafael Angel Almeida Valdes, who was visiting the city from Colorado, Ciego De Avila, Cuba, where he serves as a city councilman.

-The city was presented with a gold national champion medallion and a framed team photo of the National Champions Expos 13 in appreciation for the use of the ball field at Berkeley Park, which led to their winning year.

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Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.

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